1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer systems and, more specifically, the present invention relates to memories in computer systems.
2. Background Information
Computer systems use memory to store data or information. Random access memory (RAM) is a type of memory used by computers to hold data and may be accessed randomly by a computer processor for computer operations. Computer processors use RAM for activities such as the storage of data, calculation results, program instructions, etc. As computer technology continues to advance, computer memory speeds continue to increase.
As computer memory speeds continue to increase, there appears to be a trend of converting from today's standard, but slower, parallel memories to serial memories, which are generally faster than today's parallel memories. Parallel memories include for example single in-line memory modules (SIMMs) or dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs). SIMMs and DIMMs utilize synchronous dynamic RAMs (SDRAMs), which have a typical transfer rate of approximately 800 megabytes per second. However, serial memories, such as for example Rambus.RTM. in-line memory modules (RIMMs.TM.), which utilize Rambus dynamic RAMs (RDRAMs.RTM.), have a typical transfer rate of around 1.6 gigabytes per second.
Presently, computer manufacturers are migrating over to the use of serial memories, such as for example RIMMs, instead of the use of parallel memories, such as for example DIMMs. However, since serial memories are a relatively new technology, serial memories at this time are not as widely available and are consequently more costly when compared to parallel memories. Indeed, there is presently a relatively large supply of SIMMs and DIMMs compared to the supply of RIMMs.
RIMMs are not compatible with SIMMs or DIMMs. That is, one cannot simply unplug a RIMM from a computer motherboard and replace it with a DIMM. As a result, computer users that have computer systems configured to operate only with RIMMs are unable to utilize the more inexpensive SIMMs or DIMMs. Therefore, until the cost of serial memories comes down, computer systems configured to operate only with serial memories are more expensive than computer systems configured to operate with parallel memories.